A Toronto doctor has resigned from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario following months of investigation into unclean equipment used in her gynecology clinic.
A notice on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) website says that Dr. Esther Park, whose license was restricted to office-based gynecology in mid-December, will effectively stop practising medicine this Wednesday.
As of Apr. 30, Park will resign from the College, and “has agreed never to apply or reapply for registration as a physician in Ontario or any other jurisdiction,” according to the notice.
According to the CPSO, following a resignation, College registrants are no longer permitted to practice medicine in the province.
The public notification also adds that the CPSO began looking into Park after two public complaints about her obstetrics and gynecology practice.
The notice comes over a month after Toronto Public Health (TPH) confirmed that nearly 2,500 patients received a letter about the clinic’s medical instruments being improperly cleaned for up to four years, potentially exposing them to blood-borne infections such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
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According to TPH in March, there’s little evidence that Park’s clinic, located in the High Park area, has properly sanitized since October of 2020.
TPH shared the information as a precaution, recommending that the affected patients consult with their primary health care provider for appropriate testing, but also said the risk of transmission was low.
Previously, a message on Park’s answering machine indicated that she would be retiring this year, and that the clinic is only attending to patients with previously scheduled appointments until its closure in April.
Online, social media users are reacting to Park’s resignation.
“Gross,” one Reddit user said in the r/toronto subreddit.
“How is this even conceivable behaviour from a medically trained professional?,” another user questioned.
“I feel horrified for everyone who was referred to this clinic and has now got to spend months either worrying that they have picked up some disease or eventually finding out they actually have picked up some disease or infection,” another person wrote.
